Steve Ballmer's annual letter to shareholders makes it very clear Microsoft is at a point of no return - and in the middle of a transition into a hardware company. "This is a significant shift, both in what we do and how we see ourselves - as a devices and services company. It impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses." Line. Sand.

This is completely wrong. Apple designing cpu cores now and I don't even speak of custom SOC design.
Just look at teardowns. Everything is custom except for common components like memory chips, connectors, etc.
Unibody cases Apple uses are very expensive to manufacture and not nearly a commodity.
Even glass panels in Apple Store required custom equipment to be made.

This is completely wrong. Apple designing cpu cores now and I don't even speak of custom SOC design.
Just look at teardowns. Everything is custom except for common components like memory chips, connectors, etc.
Unibody cases Apple uses are very expensive to manufacture and not nearly a commodity.
Even glass panels in Apple Store required custom equipment to be made.

You know what, just read the rest of that discussion before you comment further.